This morning we had a very early breakfast at 6am for a 6:30
start and a visit to the lowland Aripo Savannah and Arena Forest. Our guide was Sharon (sp – male) and very
good at spotting birds, but as neither of us get very excited about a dark blob
50ft up in a leafy tree it wasn’t the most exciting of trips.
This whole trip is an experiment to see if we enjoy it and
so far the veranda has been amazing but looking at birds in addition to animals etc in Africa is probably more what suits us.
We had to take security with us in the form of Stuart, a
huge black guy, as some of the areas we were driving through could be
dangerous. On the way down through the
jungle we stopped to look for something and Stuart in his black pick-up parked
a few meters behind us. I wandered back
to say hello and as I did so another car came around the bend and Stuart
immediately got out – REVOLVER IN HAND – YIKES!!!!!! He said without it he couldn’t protect us as
if anyone was looking to cause trouble “they wouldn’t come empty handed” he
explained. Of course there was no
trouble whatsoever but it was nice having another pair of eyes watching the
camera bag.
Not much to show really, scenery was nice
and the Mimosa grew really tall (about 1m)
Not much to show really, scenery was nice
and the Mimosa grew really tall (about 1m)
This group of Smooth Billed Anis looked rather menacing to me.
We stopped for a picnic lunch in the Arena Forest which was very peaceful but not much birdlife was around and the short grass made me very nervous of chiggers* so we were reluctant too venture far.
We stopped for a picnic lunch in the Arena Forest which was very peaceful but not much birdlife was around and the short grass made me very nervous of chiggers* so we were reluctant too venture far.
*Chiggers – small mites which live in short grass
and bite humans causing intense itching.
For avoidance it's recommended you walk around with your trousers tucked
in your socks - not a great look!
·
Back at AWNC we spent the afternoon on the veranda and
enjoying the varied birds that came to the feeders.
A fairly heavy rains shower just before dusk bought the
mozzies out and my bite count increased considerably.
We are warming to the group around us who have drifted in
over the last couple of days (as with safaris people can book as many or as few
nights as they want so there is always someone leaving/arriving). The couple in the adjoining chalet Sue and
Jim from Massachusetts have the loudest voices possible and she is at the pitch
which goes right through you. Bless them
they just don’t know how to be quiet which is unusual as he leads bird tours
all over USA for his local group. Single
Sue is a lovely lady from Pennsylvania and is very happy to tick birds off her
list even if she’s only heard them and not seen them. Knob and wife from Texas, he’s originally
from Maidstone and knows absolutely everything; she is quite witty, not
particularly interested in birds and drinks a lot! Then Jill and Dave from
Sheffield arrived en route home from a trip in Guyana, they came here some years
ago and as the plane had to touch down on Trinidad they thought they might as
well come again – nice couple
Other than that the centre has quickly filled up with groups which tend to keep themselves to themselves.